Commentary: Hot dog! Bring on the sausages

The Klement's Famous Racing Sausages are being honored before today's Milwaukee Brewers game against the Chicago Cubs for 20 years of hamming it up live at Brewers games, first at Milwaukee County Stadium and now at Miller Park.

Today's race will feature the original three sausages: The Bratwurst, The Italian and The Polish. The Hot Dog and The Chorizo, who came along later, will hold the finish line tape.

Many remember when the sausages first became popular in the early 1990s. Back then, fans would eagerly await the animated race on the huge scoreboard at County Stadium. The thoroughbreds at the Kentucky Derby had nothing on us as the brat, Italian and Polish wove their way through a city of Milwaukee backdrop as fans hooted, howled and even put a few bucks down on who might be that day's weiner, er, winner.

We were always assured of a win, place and show back then.

That was fun, but the Brewers took this attraction to a whole new level with the introduction - in June 1993 - of live races with costumed sausages. The hot dog joined in the late 1990s and the Chirizo in 2007 to make it a five-dog race .

The Klement's Sausages have become so popular that they are in demand throughout the state for events like fairs, parties and conventions. They even hang out in the parking lot before Brewers games, possibly cringing a bit as fans fry up their "counterparts" on hot grills, but mostly bouncing around high-fiving kids of all ages.

It leaves one wondering what Bernie Brewer thinks about the entire phenomenon. Bernie was, after all, the only show in town since the early 1970s, before the sausages showed up. Bernie has quite a history himself, if you'll recall. It was in June 1970 that 69-year-old Milt Mason decided to sit atop the County Stadium scoreboard until the Brewers could draw a crowd of at least 40,000. Back then, with the team struggling, it took about 40 days before Mason was able to descend.

He was the original Bernie Brewer, who has since morphed into a costumed, smiley German guy with a huge mustache slipping down a winding slide with every home run by the home team.

Bernie remains an icon but his friend, Bonnie Brewer, who used to whack the opposing third-base coach in the butt with a broom after sweeping off the bases once each game, is gone.

Every Major League Baseball team has a gimmick that helps fans identify with the franchise. The sausages and Bernie Brewer are more special than most mascots, however. They make the baseball highlight shows more often and are often the talk at the ballpark, even among opposing fans.

Quite frankly, we're happy to have them on our side.

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Commentary: Hot dog! Bring on the sausages

Let's be frank. This day was a long time in the making.

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